Here Comes the Heat (before we meet)
by tinybeavermonster
Summary: They're a work in progress, but you know what? That's just fine for them. (A Merome coffee shop style AU)
1. Chapter 1: Chai Tea or Tai Chea?

A/N: I honestly have no idea what inspired me to write this, but well here we are. It'll be multichaptered too, but whatever. I'll continue it soon, so look out for the new chapter sometime soon! And I shit you not, the whole Tai Chea/ Chai Tea argument actually happened to me.

Warnings: Just some swearing but that's about it

Pairings: Implied vengekipz, implied skylox, merome.

**Chapter 1: Chai Tea or Tai Chea?**

Drumming his fingers on the wooden counter, Mitch propped his head on his hand with a sigh. He was still stuck at his shift at the bar, since Ashley hadn't shown up yet to replace him. Technically, it wasn't even his job to man the bar, since he owned the cafe, but he liked greeting his customers anyways.

Business had been slow at his recently-opened coffee shop, and currently there were only two customers, both sitting by the window and chatting away as they occasionally took sips of their steaming drinks.

Arching one eyebrow as his patrons started to bicker, Mitch couldn't resist eavesdropping as the shorter of the pair started getting irritated.

"Oh, for fuck's sake Adam, it's called Chai Tea!"

The taller man, apparently named Adam, removed his sunglasses just so he could roll his bright blue eyes.

"Um, Ty… no, it's pronounced Tai Chea,"

"Is he actually serious?" Mitch whispered to himself as he stared at Adam, dumbfounded.

Ty threw his hands up in the air, obviously exasperated. "You know what? Fine, fine. It's called Tai Chea, you little shit."

Mitch couldn't resist laughing at that, causing the strange duo to look up at him. Ty's odd crimson eyes filled with mischief, and a smirk spread across his pale face.

"Hey, you own a coffee shop, so you'd know. Is it pronounced Chai Tea or Tai Chea?"

Mitch couldn't help but grin at Ty's triumphant tone. "Hate to break it to you, dood, but it's pronounced Chai Tea."

Adam crossed his arms across his broad chest with a pout, while Ty looked smug.

"See, I fucking told you! This is why you failed English class, y'know."

"Hey! You said you'd never mention that again-"

Adam and Ty returned to their squabbling, while Mitch watched, amused.

"Mitch, dood! I finished the cake that Quentin ordered for Annie, come look at it!" Ian's excited voice called out from the kitchen.

"Sure thing, I'll be there in a sec!" Mitch replied back, casting a dubious glance over at the arguing couple in the window seat.

"They better not break anything," He muttered to himself as he walked through the kitchen doors.

Ian came bouncing over, covered in flour and waving a whisk around like a sword. Whenever Ian baked, he always ended up making a huge mess, but the end results were phenomenal.

When Mitch decided to open the cafe, his first choice for a cook/baker was Ian. Ever since they were young, Ian had always loved to bake and cook, though no one was really sure why.

"I even used the right icing this time, not that weird coconut goop,"

Mitch shuddered at the mention of the disgusting, clumpy abomination that he had found at the supermarket one day. It said it was coconut flavor on the label, but it actually tasted like horse shit.

"Good, you made sure to throw that shit out, right?"

Nodding, Ian wiped the flour off of his face with a towel. "Yeah, I burned it actually. Anyways, come look at the cake!"

Mitch let out a whistle of appreciation at the sight of Ian's latest creation. Quentin had ordered something with caramel and vanilla, so Ian gave him exactly that. The cake was coated with a thick, creamy vanilla frosting and drizzled with honey colored caramel. He couldn't see the inside of it, but he guessed it was probably a yellow cake.

"Annie is so damn lucky right now."

Ian laughed, tossing the dish-towel over his shoulder. "It's simple, but it looks pretty, right?"

Nodding, Mitch tried to swipe some icing with his finger when Ian wasn't looking, but only ended up with a sore hand when Ian smacked him with the whisk.

"Don't even think about it."

Mitch stuck his tongue out at the other male, before turning around. "Hey, that's no way to treat your boss!"

"Don't you have customers to take care of?" Ian asked dryly as he started washing up the dishes, keeping a watchful eye on his cake.

"Oh, sort of. There's two of 'em, but they act like an old married couple and keep themselves distracted by arguing. Hey, did you know that some people say Tai Chea instead of Chai Tea?"

"Wait they do? How do you even-" Ian was cut off by the cafe's doorbell jingling merrily. "There, now you have more customers. Shoo!"

"Fine, fine. Make sure you let Quentin know his order is ready, too!"

Running a hand through his wild brown hair distractedly, Mitch turned around, left the tiny kitchen, and went to greet his new customer. Who, of course, was really hot.

Mitch suddenly felt very warm underneath his checkered hoodie when the handsome, suit-clad bacca's kind brown eyes landed on him. He felt a slight blush rise to his cheeks (and maybe somewhere more… private) when the attractive bastard smiled at him.

"Holy shit, look at those biceps!" Mitch thought to himself as he gave the man's muscular body an appreciative once-over.

"Uh, hello?" The bacca said uncertainly as he waved his furry paw in front of Mitch's face.

Feeling his face flush even more, Mitch realized he had been staring for longer than what could be considered acceptable.

"Ha, sorry about that! Ah, what can I get you?" Mitch said with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Your number- Erm, I mean, could I have a large coffee, no sugar or cream?"

Mitch pretended that he hadn't heard that first part, just to make the poor man feel better, even though it had nearly made his heart leap out of his chest. Whipping out a pad of paper, he wrote down the order.

"Sure thing! Do you want it to go?" Somehow Mitch managed to reply in a calm, steady voice, despite the fact that on the inside he was the exact opposite.

"Oh, uh yeah. And just put me down for Jerome," He seemed to put in as an after-thought as a group of exhausted looking college students came tumbling into the cafe.

"Of course! It'll be ready in a moment,"

He finished writing the order down quickly, adding Jerome's name to it as well. For some reason, Mitch felt like the name suit the other man.

Turning around, he grabbed a cup and filled it with the already-brewed coffee. Remembering the orders to not add anything else, he snapped the cap on and whipped out a sharpie to write Jerome's name on it. Looking up, he noticed that Jerome was distracted, looking at Adam and Ty who were still arguing over at the window seat.

Figuring that this was his chance, he jotted his phone number down onto another piece of paper, along with his name. On impulse, he added a "Call me!" with a smiley face below it, but before he could regret his decision, the college kids came bustling up to the counter, crying out for caffeine.

Rolling his eyes, Mitch slid over to the cash register with coffee and number in hand. "Jerome?" He shouted out over the cacophony of noises the new arrivals were making.

Sure enough, Jerome came running over, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet.

"Alright, that'll be $1.99,"

Jerome nodded, pulling out the desired amount of money and then handing it to Mitch. Working the cash register, he put in the payment and handed the hot drink, along with his number, over to the bacca. Jerome stared at the folded up piece of paper in confusion for a bit, before looking up and meeting Mitch's amber gaze. Realization dawned in his dark brown eyes, and Mitch could've sworn he saw a small smirk on his face.

"Thanks," Jerome murmured smoothly as he pocketed the piece of paper. "I'll make sure to stop by here again,"

Feeling a blush rise to his cheeks again, Mitch felt like smacking the bacca for the way he said that so suggestively. "Please, do." He found himself replying back as Jerome turned away and left, sipping his coffee.

Suddenly, Mitch felt very grateful to Ashley for being late for her shift.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeeetch!

A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but I'm a horrible procrastinator. I'm also not very happy with how this one turned out, so I may write a new one and post it later. Whatever, I hope you enjoy~

Warnings: None as of this chapter

Pairings: merome (brief mentions but whatever)

**Chapter 2: "Meeeetch!"**

A little while after Jerome left, and after Mitch had served the college kids, Ashley finally showed up. Her cheeks were red and she looked ruffled with her hair windswept and tangled.

"Oh damn, I'm sorry for being late, I ran into traffic, and-"

Mitch cut her off midrant. "Nah, don't worry about it! Everyone has bad days,"

Ashley stared at him incredulously, green eyes filled with bewilderment. "Did you- did you hit your head or something? Normally you'd be kicking my ass for showing up so late."

"No, my head's fine," Mitch chuckled, untying the knot on the back of his apron. "But, while you were gone, I did get to meet a hot guy, and I gave him my number." Mitch grinned triumphantly at Ashley's stunned expression.

"What the hell? How come you always get to hook up with the good-looking ones?" She muttered in faux-anger as she pulled her long hair back into a ponytail.

"Dunno. I don't really care why it happens so long as I get laid."

Ashley laughed, smacking Mitch's shoulder playfully. "Well, what's the lucky man's name then?"

"Jerome. And, before you ask, yes, he's tall and muscular."

"I knew it! You always go for the buff ones."

Mitch gasped with pretend astonishment. "What? How dare you accuse me of such a thing!"

Ashley rolled her eyes, hanging her stylish coat up on the rack. "Mitch, we all know what your taste in men is." She deadpanned, slipping into her apron.

"Oh, hush," Mitch pouted, sticking his tongue out at her. "Anyways, I let you handle the shop for a while. I'm gonna head out for some lunch, I think."

"Lunch? It's 9:00 a.m.!"

"Oh, breakfast then. You know how bad my time telling skills are. Make sure those two," Mitch pointed over at Adam and Ty, who seemed to have calmed down slightly and were now sipping their drinks peacefully. "Behave themselves. They were about to attack each other earlier, and I don't want anything to break."

Ashley arched a perfect eyebrow at Adam and Ty. The were behaving pretty serenely for the moment. "Sure… well, enjoy your food. I'll make sure Ian leaves the kitchen at some point today."

"Thanks, you're a babe~" Mitch said in a sing-song voice as he threw on his jacket and wrapped his red scarf snugly around his neck.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Make sure you get back relatively soon. It's the dead of winter and I don't want you to freeze to death."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine, mom."

Ashley ignored the nickname bestowed upon her, waving the Canadian away instead.

Mitch pushed the front glass door open, its bell chiming familiarly. He shivered immediately when a gust of freezing air hit his uncovered face. Jamming his ungloved hands into his coat pockets, he set out on a brisk pace across the slightly icy sidewalk.

Winter had always been his favorite season, though that didn't necessarily mean that he enjoyed the frigid temperatures. He loved the snow, since it meant skiing and snowboarding and pissing off his friends by chucking snowballs at them. Even though he usually fell on his ass most of the time, he also liked iceskating. Something about gliding gracefully across the ice, or in Mitch's case, wildly and recklessly, filled his heart with childlike glee.

He occasionally waved at some of the locals that he knew, but mostly he kept to himself, mind still focused on Jerome. Mitch wondered when the bacca would call him, and something about the other man made the butterflies in his stomach flutter. A soft smile spread across his lips, and his already windblown red cheeks flushed slightly when he remembered how Jerome had looked at him.

Mitch was jerked out of his thoughts when a delicate snowflake floated down onto his cheek. A quick look at the sky revealed that the clouds were light gray, and the snow drifted to the ground in flurries.

"Ah, shit, missed my stop." He said under his breath as he backtracked, searching for his destination.

The restaurant he was looking for belonged to his good friend Rob. Whenever Mitch felt the urge to eat out, he always made sure to head over to Rob's.

As soon as he sighted the restaurant, he raced over, not wanting to be in the cold anymore. Begrudgingly, he slipped one hand out of his warm pocket and opened the door.

Mitch breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the brightly lit (and warm) building. There weren't many other customers, which wasn't really surprising since most people were at work already. Some catchy radio song (which sounded suspiciously like Lady Gaga) was playing quietly in the background.

"Meeeetch!" Rob came bustling over, throwing his arm around Mitch's shoulders.

Mitch ducked away from Rob's grip as soon as the other man started to ruffle his hair. "Yes, hello to you too-"

"I've missed you bro! I mean, I saw you last night, but whatever." Rob exclaimed, ignoring the startled looks his patrons kept shooting him.

"Yeah, yeah, missed you too," Mitch said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Hey, could you, like, set me up at a table now or something? I'm starving."

"Sure thing! There's free tables over there," Rob waved his hand at the general direction of the far left wall. "I'm guessing you want pancakes or something?"

"Pancakes sounds good."

"Alright, I'll tell Mat to get on that right away~"

Shrugging, Mitch sat down at a vacant table. Pretty soon, Rob came skipping (honestly, Mitch was used to it by now) over, holding a plate of delicious looking pancakes.

"Here ya go! Oh, and Mat says hi."

"Tell him I said thanks," Mitch mumbled, eyes glued to the gorgeous, perfectly golden heap of pancakes in front of him. Rob left to go seat some new customers while Mitch devoured his meal.

He finished his breakfast in record timing, and nearly fell asleep. When he checked his phone, it said it was already 11:00 a.m., so he decided to finally head back to his cafe.

"Don't even think about paying," Rob said as soon as Mitch came over with his wallet out.

"Oh, fine. That means I owe you a free drink or something next time you come over." Mitch pouted, tucking his money safely back into his pocket.

"That sounds great, actually. Oh, and Preston said he has next week off. We should go do something when he gets here."

"Oh, he does? Well, you can figure something out. I gotta get back to the shop before Ashley starts texting me." Mitch said, tightening the scarf around his neck again.

"Haha, alright. Stay safe bro, 'kay?"

"Yeah, I will. You too."

Mitch managed to make it back to his cafe before Ashley could worry, and the rest of the day passed in a blur. He couldn't keep his mind off of Jerome and the call he was hoping he would get.

Around 7:00 p.m., when he finally got home, and just as he was settling down for some dinner, his cell started ringing.


	3. Chapter 3: Daydreaming

A/N: I am SUPER sorry about the long wait for this chapter! I've had some personal stuff to deal with, and writer's block refuses to leave me alone! I'm definitely going to try and update this story more regularly, but I can't promise anything. And I'm trying out a new format for this, so please tell me what you think! I'm going to try writing in 1st person, and if you guys like it better than how I wrote in 3rd person the last chapters, please just leave some feedback. Leave a comment *hinthintcoughcough* telling me which way you prefer~

Anyways, sorry for the long ramble, I'll let you get to it~

**Chapter 3:** Daydreaming

I reclined languidly back into my chair, sighing with relief as I stretched out my arms. Some bullshit reality show was playing on the tv (did Lindsay Lohan _really _need her own show?) and I was pretty much just tuning it out. I rubbed my tired eyes, trying to block out the insistent and annoying artificial light above me.

My thoughts were drifting aimlessly like clouds in my head, and I twirled my fork around distractedly. Amidst the random ideas that popped up, there was one thing, or rather, one _person_, that made himself most apparent in my consciousness.

Yeah, you can probably guess who I'm thinking about.

Can you really blame me though? I mean, c'mon. Jerome is _hot_. From what I remember, he had pretty damn noticeable muscles, and that's a _huge _turn-on for me. I haven't dated a non-human in quite a few years, but from my last relationship like that, it was really… thrilling?

I don't know if that's the word I'm looking for, but… you know what I mean. Maybe.

Anyways, back to Jerome. I met him _today_, and I can't stop thinking about him. Usually when I meet someone attractive, it takes me a few days to start thinking about them like I am with Jerome. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being in relationships, but… I like to wait a few weeks before I decide to start one. But… there's something different about Jerome. I just felt really… connected to him, which is strange to say seeing how I literally _just_ met him.

Okay, back on topic now, before I start rambling.

When I was gazing, probably really creepily, now that I think about it, into his gorgeous dark eyes that were such a deep shade of brown they were almost _black_-

Oh god, that sounds really cliche, doesn't it? Shit, just pretend I never said that.

Whatever, you get what I'm saying. He's got eyes that I could get lost in (that still sounds corny, dammit!). And, shit, he's so tall! He's at least 5 inches taller than me, which is saying something since I'm around 5'10". Okay, well… that might not be _that _much taller, but whatever.

His voice is surprisingly not as deep as it seems like it would be. It's not super high, either. It's kind of… in the middle, I guess. And… I wouldn't mind that sweet voice of his whispering sweet nothings into my ear as he thrusts furiously into-

My cheeks flushed slightly. Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before I started thinking about _that_. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like sex. It's just that… my fantasies get a little… _interesting_, if I let them run wild for too long.

And by interesting, I mean that I'm left with a hard-on and feeling sexually frustrated. SO basically, don't leave me alone when I'm horny.

"I really haven't done cocaine more than 10 or 15 times. I've done it like 10 or 15 times." Looks like I picked a wrong time to start listening to whatever garbage was on tv right now.

I rolled my eyes, pushing my chair away from the table and standing up. I really need to stop having these inner monologues, it takes up _way _too much time. My little speech started sometime around 6:30, and now it's around 7:15. Oops.

I slid across the shiny linoleum floors of my kitchen to my microwave. Before I started my little speech, I had put a microwave dinner in to cook. I whipped open the microwave door, testing the meal with one finger only to find that it is ice-cold. Pouting, I slam the door shut and punch a few numbers into the keypad.

I slouched back into my chair again. Hey, I was hoping that shitty food would still be warm! I'm lazy, okay?

As I threw a minor fit, my food cooked. After about 3 minutes, the machine beeped. I flew out of my seat and back over to my waiting dinner, snatching it out of the microwave. Just as I sat down and got comfortable, I was interrupted.

My goddamn phone.

I guess I forgot that Jerome was supposed to be calling me or something. This is going to be fucking awkward, I can tell already.


End file.
